Olga Shmuylovich
Olga Shmuylovich cannot remember a time when she was not creating art. A native of Leningrad, she graduated from the State Academy of Fine Art and Design. Unlike many young Jews in the Soviet Union in the years after World War II, she grew up in a family that still observed a number of Jewish customs and traditions. As a result, much of her work is rooted in her Jewish identity. She and her husband, also an artist, tried unsuccessfully to emigrate for many years but were unable to leave the country until 1992. In Boston, she has continued to produce and curate a variety of art projects and exhibitions. One of the installations she created celebrates the global seders organized by Project Kesher, a group that seeks to empower Jewish women worldwide.